For some people confined to wheelchairs, urination poses a difficult problem. The person may be physically unable to control their bladder, yet help may not arrive in time or is unavailable, or the person themself may not be cognizant of urination. If the person so confined and burdened is not or does not wish to be hooked up to a device similar to a colostomy bag tube connection, hopital or nursing home staff are faced with the unpleasant tasks of mopping and/or cleaning and disinfecting floors and carpets, as well as the patient, the patient's clothes, and the wheelchair.
Prior art known to applicant in the area of collection of human waste from chair-confined persons is minimal. U.S. Pat. No. 3,186,759 to Reeves involves a stool collection pan beneath the seat, where by moving the seat forward, alignment between the patient and the pan is achieved. It obviously requires the aid and attention of a second person. U.S. Pat. No. 3,568,217 to Anderson involves connecting a colostomy type collector attached to the patient by means of a tube attachment which in turn is connected to a reservoir under the seat, provides a situation which may prove uncomfortable, conspicuous and undesirable.
It is obvious there is a need for an invention directed to urine collection for non-ambulatory wheelchair confined patients which requires neither the affirmative assistance of another person nor the connection of any collection devices to the person's body.